Keithexe
by voltron-assemble
Summary: Klangst :)
1. Chapter 1

Time stopped. Lance waited to feel the pain set in, waited to be thrown across the field, waited to hear the others shouting his name. But nothing happened. Blue eyes opened and scanned the room for any explanation as to why he wasn't dead. Everything seemed to be the same, except… Keith?

"Keith!" Lance ran to the red paladin, who was lying on the ground almost motionless. "Keith?"

He was holding his stomach, although Lance could see blood seeping through his suit despite his attempt to cover it with his arms. Lance just didn't understand how this happened. Keith was, in his opinion, the last person that would save him. He would gladly take a bullet for any one of the Paladins, Allura, and Coran, but he didn't think Keith was the same way.

"Lance…?"

Keith's broken voice snapped him out of his thoughts. He looked around and saw only a few more Galra soldiers by Hunk and Pidge. "Shiro! Help!"

Shiro didn't hear him.

Lance looked back down at Keith, pulling the boy onto his lap. "Hey, look at me, keep your eyes open okay? Y-you're gonna be okay, I promise."

Dark eyes slowly met Lance's blue ones. "Lance…"

"I'm gonna take you back to the castle okay?" Lance picked him up before getting any reply. If Keith said no, he would do it anyway. No one was going to die today, not on his watch.

Keith coughed quietly and rested his head on Lance's shoulder. "Lance I need to tell you something-"

"Nope! No no no no, you don't need to, because you can tell me later, because you're going to be fine."

"Lance-"

"Nope, stop talking, just stay awake and shut up Keith."

Keith coughed again.

Lance gulped. Maybe Keith wasn't going to be fine. "We're almost to Blue, she'll take us to the castle." He said reassuringly, half to Keith and half to himself. There had been a lot of close calls over the last year, but nothing this bad. He didn't want to think about the possibility of any of them dying, because it was just too hard. And this time it was his fault. {I should've been more careful. If I had been paying more attention, there wouldn't have been an attack for Keith to block in the first place. We're never going to be able to find another red paladin. Not as good as Keith at the very least.}

He wasn't sure how long it took to get to his lion, but it felt like hours. He carefully laid Keith down on his back so gravity could do its best to keep blood from spilling out any faster than it already was.

"Okay Blue, can you take us home?" Lance asked as he wiped some blood away from Keith's mouth. He heard his lion confirm before they took off.

"Lance…"

"I'm right here, keep your eyes open okay Keith?"

Slowly, Keith's dark eyes fluttered as open as they could and looked up. "Promise me something…"

Lance nodded without hesitation.

"Promise you'll live to see the rain for me?"

"…I promise." He muttered, vision blurring. He watched Keith's eyes close before breaking down in tears.

•••

"Lance, we have to put him in the healing pod!" Allura insisted urgently.

"You gotta let go man!" Hunk grabbed his shoulders. "He won't get any better if you don't let him go in the healing pod."

"I'm afraid we can't hold off any longer." Coran announced as he checked over Keith's injuries. He tried to, anyway, but not as well as he would've liked with Lance draped over the red paladin.

Shiro grabbed Lance and pried him off Keith. "Guys, hurry up and get Keith in there."

Lance screamed, squirming and kicking and doing anything he could to get out of Shiro's arms. His mind was a blur. The only thing he knew was that he didn't want to let go of Keith, who was being locked away from him. Suddenly, the arms around him were gone, and he was on his knees.

"He's going to be alright Lance, it'll just take some time." Allura said gently.

"Yeah, you did everything you could." Hunk added. "If you hadn't been there we would be in a lot of trouble right now. Just look at the bright side: he'll be good as new in a few days."

He nodded silently.

"Well, I'm gonna go to the lab…" Pidge said. Clearly, Lance didn't want any company right now.

"I'll come with you." Shiro said, patting Lance on the back before following Pidge out of the room.

"Coran, will you help me check on the ship's shields? I'm afraid they may have been damaged during the battle."

"Of course princess."

Hunk frowned and sat down next to Lance.

Lance sniffled. "You really think he's gonna be okay?"

"Oh definitely. Remember like, forever ago, when you were in the healing pod for the first time? I was worried you wouldn't be okay, but these healing pods are seriously amazing. They can probably fix anything. If Coran says he'll be okay, then he'll be okay."

"…"

"I'm gonna head to the kitchen, do you want anything?"

Lance shook his head.

"Alright, holler if you change your mind dude."


	2. Chapter 2

Lance looked to his side where Hunk and Pidge had left him blankets, food, and even Pidge's headphones. There was no way he would be able to sleep. He was exhausted, and he hadn't left the room in 17 hours and 38 minutes (except to use the bathroom), but there was no way he was going to be able to fall asleep.

But he might as well lay down, at least.

With a heavy sigh, he made himself a bed next to the healing pod. "…you're gonna be okay Keith. That's an order…" Lance mumbled as he looked at the unconscious paladin. "…can I tell you something?"

Naturally, there was no answer.

"Of course I can, you can't hear me." He remarked with a frown. "It's just that, I… sometimes I worry that we'll never make it home. Not because we'd die–although now I worry about that–but because this whole space war? It's… huge… Zarkon has been building his empire for 10,000 years, and we've been fighting for a year and we're not even close to freeing all those planets he's taken. What if we're doing this until we're a hundred? What if I never get to see my family again?" Blue eyes looked to Keith for an answer. "…I miss my family. A lot. I really want to go home and see them all again. My mom? She would love you. When you come over, she would make your favorite food for you and ask all sorts of questions and insist that you stay overnight, because you'd always be welcome. You… You will come visit, won't you? When all of this is over?"

Again, the room was silent.

"Well if you don't, I'll bring my family to you. I guess you'll have to get used to me being around, mullet.

"But, for now, I'm not going anywhere. And neither are you. So just… wake up soon? And feel better?"

With that, Lance finally felt like he could fall asleep. Exhaustion took over and he was passed out in minutes.

•••

The next few days were pretty much the same. Lance noted how many days, how many hours, how many minutes passed. He talked to Keith about his family, the Garrison, his favorite movies that he would force Keith to watch someday, and even told some really embarrassing stories about Hunk. Because Keith couldn't actually hear him, right?

But then he got to thinking. What exactly did Keith mean when he asked Lance to live to see the rain For Him? Keith lived in the desert, he probably didn't miss rain the way Lance did. Why was that his "dying" wish? He needed answers, and he was going to find out the moment Keith was awake.

•••

Lance stood back as Coran opened the healing pod, watching Keith stumble out into a tight hug provided by Hunk.

"It's so good to have you back, man!" Hunk exclaimed.

Keith smiled, although it was tired. He looked up and smiled at Hunk.

"Don't you dare get hurt like that again, got it?"

Pidge's voice caught his attention. Pidge had become like a sister to him over the last year, so he was glad to see her clear of any injuries. Keith gladly accepted a hug from her too.

"You had us all pretty worried." Shiro patted his shoulder.

"Yeah, especially Lance."

Keith saw the evil grin on Pidge's face, and remembered the conversation he had with her not long before the battle. The famous conversation she would likely never let him live down: the conversation in which he told her that he had feelings for Lance.

But that story could be saved for another time, because Lance was glaring at him. "Lance?"

"Why did you tell me to live? Why did you jump in front of me? What the hell were you thinking?"

"… I'm fine, thanks for asking." Keith frowned. "I just-"

"You just what?"

The red paladin tried to read Lance's face. Behind the scowl there was hurt, but he had no clue why. "I… I just know how badly you want to go home. And how badly you miss Earth."

"So that means you can get yourself killed?"

"I'm not dead, Lance."

Lance huffed, crossing his arms. "When are you ever going to stop being stupid and getting hurt all the time?!"

"Lance, chill." Hunk warned. He wasn't as close to Keith as Pidge was, but he knew this was crossing over into dangerous territory.

"I'm not being stupid, I'm being a good member of the team!" Keith yelled defensively.

"What good are you if you're dead?!"

"I would rather die because you know what, Lance? All of you guys have someone to go home to. All of you have someone you're fighting for. If I die out here in space, not a single person on Earth would take notice. I don't even think anyone is looking for me! So, excuse me for being logical about this. Sorry for being protective. Especially of you." Keith looked at the door and began moving directly toward it.

"What, so, just because you don't have a family, just because not a single person cares about you, you think it's okay to die?!" Lance called after him.

He stopped and turned around. When he spoke, his voice came out quiet and dry. "Not a single person?"

Blue eyes widened. Lance wanted to take those words back immediately. "Keith-"

"No, I get it, who am I to correct Lance McClain?"

He watched as Keith turned and left the room.


	3. Chapter 3

"Okay, I'll be the first to ask. What was that?" Hunk turned to Lance with confusion and slight anger burning in his eyes.

"You refused to leave this room all week and then you just yelled at him?" Pidge asked, having no answers for the first time in ages.

Lance crossed his arms. "It doesn't make any sense and I want to know what his deal is! Keith acts like he hates me and then he almost dies for me? And then he says it's because of family?"

"In case you haven't noticed, Keith doesn't hate you. Take a step back from your rivalry and think about it." And with that, Pidge left to find Keith.

She found him by one of the escape pods, pacing and pulling his hair for a moment before slumping against the wall in defeat.

She spoke, "Keith."

"Not now Pidge…" he croaked.

"Why are you by the escape pods?" Her voice was wary, but stern. It was hard to get information out of Keith, especially if you asked too nicely. What she got as a response surprised her though.

Keith was crying.

"Hey, dude.." she sat next to him carefully. "Keith, what's going on?"

It was kind of terrifying, seeing Keith like this. He hardly ever showed raw emotion, or at least, not as raw as this. Pidge didn't think she'd live to see the day Keith cried in front of another human.

"Lance can have Red and Allura can have Blue. Or Black, or something, I don't care…"

"...are you leaving?"

Keith sniffled, choking out another sob before continuing. "I want to stay and finish this but if there's any way you guys can find another paladin, then I'm really not needed anymore…"

"You know, Lance was just… confused. It came out really badly, but he doesn't want you to leave. He just wants you to be careful, I think."

Keith looked at the escape pod.

"Remember what you told me? A couple weeks ago?"

He did remember.

He remembered Pidge catching him in the middle of staring and immediately pestering him for more information. He had begged Pidge to stop, but it was hard to say no to her. Pidge had asked him if he liked Lance, and after a moment of thinking, he answered  
her with a small nod. He talked about Lance's smile, his laugh, his hair, his eyes, and may have mentioned something about his shoulders ("They're not real, I think he had plastic surgery to get perfect shoulders, Pidge."). That had only  
been about a couple weeks ago, and within those 8 days before he got stuck in a healing pod, he fell for Lance more and more. Keith wanted Lance to always be happy, and wanted only the best for him. He wanted Lance to make it back to Earth, to make  
it back to his family. Even if that meant Keith wouldn't be there to see it.

"I think you should tell Lance."

Keith just shook his head. There was no way he was going to tell Lance how he felt for months (he may have only realized it recently, but looking back, he felt like he always had feelings for Lance). No way. Especially not after Lance had told him that  
not a single person cared about him. Not one single person in the entire universe. He didn't want to face the rejection of the one person he cared about most. And he felt like shit. Everything he worried about the most, all his insecurities, had just  
been confirmed by that person.

"Keith, can I tell you something? Lance didn't leave that room all week. Well, just to pee. But he slept in there and ate in there and I think I even heard him talking to you. He was a mess. When Coran was putting you in the healing pod, Shiro had  
to hold him back because he wouldn't let go of you."

"Well whatever I did while I was unconscious in a healing pod must've changed his mind."

Pidge put her arm around his shoulder. "You know we care about you, right? We're your family. Shiro's the Dad, Coran is that weird aunt that comes over on holidays, and you're the gay cousin."

"Oh my god…"

Pidge smiled, proud of the analogy. "So, do you really want to leave?"

"A little… not as much now…" he muttered, resting his head on the green paladin's shoulder. He was the gay cousin and Pidge was his little sister.

Meanwhile, Hunk was trying to knock some sense into Lance.

"But Hunk, you have to agree that Keith constantly getting hurt isn't good, and he needs to learn to stop being stupid in dangerous situations." Lance said firmly.

"Okay, yes, he should be more careful. But you really touched a sensitive topic there, man. You know Keith doesn't have a family. That's why we're supposed to be his family. What if your brother had told you that no one cares about you?"

"He wouldn't say that."

"Well, then you shouldn't say it to Keith. You know what, man? I think you're just upset because you care about him way more than you know you do."

"What?" He scoffed, his cheeks feeling warm. "Hunk, I don't care about Keith."

"Really? Why did you stay in here all week?"

"...I was just-"

"Please just think about it, alright? And apologize to Keith." Hunk said softly.

Lance sighed loudly. He knew Hunk was right. Hunk was always right. He needed to find Keith.

And it only took him an hour to find him. (It could've been worse! Right?)

"Keith! I was looking for… you…" he stopped when he saw the state Keith was in. Lance had never seen the red paladin so-what was the word?

Pidge looked up. "Lance?"

Keith sniffled, his eyes heavy, but he forced them to look up at Lance.

Lance realized what was happening. He saw the escape pod, he saw the solemn look in Pidge's eyes, and he saw the tears on Keith's face.

"I just… I'm sorry, okay?"

After a moment, Keith nodded.

Lance wondered for a second if Keith was waiting to hear more. But he was intruding, he could tell. Pidge had this under control. "Sorry…" he said again, and left to find something to occupy him. To keep his mind off things. Off Keith. 


	4. Chapter 4

As it turns out, not thinking about Keith was a lot harder than Lance had thought it would be. Mostly because he knew that apology was awful. He tried to get a few minutes alone with Keith, he really did, but Pidge kept taking Keith away from him. Every  
single time for the last 4 days.

Hunk thought it would be best to distract Lance with some target practice. Meanwhile, Pidge had roped Keith into helping her with some modifications on her lion.

"Pidge, what do you think Lance has been trying to tell me?" He twirled his knife around his fingers, clearly uninterested in whatever Pidge was doing.

"Keith, he made you cry. He doesn't get to talk to you."

Keith sighed. "Pidge, I appreciate what you're trying to do, but I don't need you to protect me."

"Yes I do!" She shouted.

"...Pidge?" He lowered his eyebrows, more concerned than angry. Since when was Pidge responsible for him?

Pidge looked away from Keith. "...you remind me of my brother, okay? And wherever Matt is right now, I just hope he's okay. So, if you're happy, at least one of you is okay…"

"Pidge, you know what would really make me happy?" Keith nudged her shoulder.

"Hm."

"If you would let me talk to Lance."

"...you just want to look at his butt." She pouted.

"Wha-no I don't!" Keith felt his face getting heated.

"Oh please! You like Lance's butt and you know it!"

"I definitely do not like Lance's butt, Pidge."

She looked at him with a small grin and one eyebrow raised. Also known as the face of evil. "So when you guys start dating I can tell Lance you don't like his butt?"

"Pidge! We're not even-you can't tell him that!"

"So I should tell him you do like his butt?"

"I'm leaving. You can't say anything about Lance's butt, under any circumstances." Keith left before Pidge could argue anymore. He went to find Lance, which took him quite a while since the training deck is usually the last place Lance wanted  
to be.  
"Ahem."

Hunk and Lance lowered their bayards and turned to the door where Keith was standing sheepishly.

"Oh, Keith…" Lance stood up straight. "What's up?"

"Can I talk to you for a second? Uh, Pidge is allowing it…"

"Really? Good, I need to talk to you too." He bounced over to Keith and pulled him into the hallway for more privacy.

Keith's heart was racing. He hadn't planned what he was going to say, but all he could focus on was the fact that he was finally alone with Lance.

"I just… I need to apologize, again, because my first apology really sucked. I feel really bad for what I said and I didn't mean to upset you, I'm just worried about you and I hate that you keep getting hurt, and no offense Keith? But you really  
need to stop using your body as everyone else's shield."

He nodded quietly.

"And, also…" Lance looked down and scratched the back of his head. He was a little nervous, actually, despite how many times he practiced what he would say once he finally got to talk to Keith. "We… we all do care about you, Keith. And  
I know we're rivals but, you know, I'm happy you're here. I don't know if I can see anyone else piloting the Red Lion."

"...really?"

"Yeah. No hard feelings?"

"Well I just wanted you to know, um…" Keith blurted out. "I-I'm sorry too. You're right, I should be more careful."

"We all should. You wouldn't have to defend us if we weren't always about to get hurt." Lance punched his arm playfully.

"Yeah, you're right." Keith smiled. He was glad to get that off his chest, and to hear what Lance had to say. But it occurred to him that he might not get time alone with Lance after this, depending on how upset Pidge actually was about this.  
"Hey Lance?"

"Yeah?"

"I… I really like y-"

"PALADINS! GET TO YOUR LIONS!" Allura's voice rang throughout the castle as red lights started blaring.

"Quiznak, come on Keith!"

"Wait, Lance?"

"Dude come on!"

They ran to their lions as fast as they could. Keith tried to empty his mind. They needed to be ready to fight whatever was out there, and they would need to be able to form Voltron, and that wouldn't happen if he was panicking over Lance.

"Allura, give us a rundown." Shiro said.

"There's a Galra fleet approaching, we have reason to believe Pidge's father and brother may be on board one of the ships."

"What?!"

"Which means we can't blow everything up, we have to think of something to take down the Galra without destroying the ships." Hunk said.

"Wait, Allura, why didn't you tell me you knew where my family was?!" Pidge yelled.

"We didn't want you to be disappointed in case it wasn't true." Coran jumped into the conversation. "But everybody needs to focus on coming up with a plan!"

"So basically we're flying around in circles until further notice?" Keith groaned. "This is a suicide mission."

"I don't care, if my family is here then they can fire at me all they want!" The green lion flew straight at one of the ships. "I'm going to find them!"

"PIDGE, WAIT!" Shiro scolded, but there was worry in his voice. "You have to wait for us to figure out a plan, you're going to get hurt!"

"I don't care!"

"I'm coming with you!"

"Keith!"

The red paladin leaned forward in his seat, ready maneuver his way through the dozens of Galra ships to get to Pidge. He wasn't going to let her do this alone.

"Keith, remember when I told you to stop getting hurt?! You're going to get hurt! You both are!" Lance's voice called through their helmets. "Get back here so we can do this together!"

Pidge wasn't listening.

Keith followed her into one of the ships. 


	5. Chapter 5

"Pidge, we have to get off this ship, we're going to get killed!" Keith called after her, stepping out of his lion. "They're going to take our lions! Get back here!"

She disappeared around the corner. "I don't care about that, I'm finding my fa-..."

"Pidge?! Are you okay?!"

"Keith, what's happening?" Allura's voice sounded in his helmet.

"PIDGE?!" He screamed. There were Galra soldiers approaching him, and he couldn't abandon the red and green lions to find Pidge. Keith took out his bayard and started fighting. Nothing he was doing registered in his mind, he only felt blind  
panic. Pidge was gone so suddenly and he couldn't protect her.

"Self destruct in 30 tics."

"Keith, was that the ship?" Hunk asked in a panic. "You gotta get Pidge and get out of there!"

"I'm trying! We're not in our lions, they're going to be destroyed if someone doesn't come get them out of here." He sliced the last Galra soldier in half, sending blue sparks into the air, before he ran in the Pidge's direction.

"Where's Pidge?"

"I don't know, Shiro! I'm looking for her!" He came to a split and decided to go left. "Pidge?"

"Keith help!"

"Pidge!" He began to run faster, but the ship jolted down and he was thrown onto the floor. It felt like the ship was falling.

"You're being pulled toward that nearby planet!" Coran yelled.

The red paladin started running again. He could hear Pidge fighting and struggling.

"18… 17… 16…"

"Keith!"

"Pidge, I'm coming!"

"These Galra know why we're here!" Lance said. "They know Pidge won't leave the ship, they know that if the ship explodes she'll die! Keith, get out of there! It's a trap!"

"I'm not leaving without Pidge!"

"I'm going to get your lions!" Hunk announced.

"Be careful, Hunk!" Coran warned.

Keith followed the sound of Pidge's voice to the helm of the ship. They were surrounded by soldiers. "Let go of her." He threatened.

"9… 8… 7…"

"Fine, we'll do this the hard way." A red sword appeared at Keith's side as he charged at the soldiers holding Pidge. It didn't need to be a fight, just a distraction to get out.

"3… 2…"

He grabbed Pidge, ran up to the windshield, and broke through. Glass (or the space equivalent to glass) shattered everywhere. They were falling.

"1…"

Keith turned on his jet pack to slow their descent, just as he heard a loud Boom. Chunks of the ship were thrown in all directions. Including right at Pidge and Keith. Everything went black.

Dark, purple eyes opened slowly, but everything was a blur. They seemed to have landed on a beach of some sort, that much he was aware of. Keith blinked a few times to focus. Pidge was lying yards away, but she was breathing.  
It was cold. There was wind here. It felt like the wind you feel after you come out of a swimming pool. Keith curled up to try to stay warm, but something hit his knee that caught his attention. It looked like a seashell.  
It was big and curly and blue and it reminded him of Earth. It reminded him of Lance.

"Pidge! Keith!"

That was Hunk's voice. And Hunk appeared in front of Pidge a few seconds later.

"Pidge, you okay? Please be okay."

She nodded tiredly.

Keith sighed in relief and forced himself to sit up.

"Whoa, hey, slow down there."

"...Shiro?" The red paladin looked up to find he had guessed correctly, Shiro was helping him sit up. He looked down and grabbed the seashell.

"Come on, let's get back to the castle. You're freezing."

Now that he was waking up, he realized they must've fallen in the water and washed up on the shore. "Pidge?"

"She's okay!" Hunk answered.

"Let's get them inside, Hunk."

"Where's Lance?" Keith croaked. He couldn't see the blue paladin anywhere.

"Lance is back at the castle. He rescued some prisoners who may know something about Pidge's family."

Keith clutched the shell closer to his chest and focused on making it to the castle without freezing to death.  
And when he got there, he was greeted by warm blankets and one of Allura's hugs.

"Thank you for saving Pidge." She said gratefully.

"You two need to be more careful!" Coran said. "You had us worried sick."

"Yeah. Pidge, if you want to talk to the prisoners, they're in the infirmary." Lance said to the green paladin.

She nodded, and left the room quietly with her blanket dragging behind her.

"I'm going with her." Shiro said. He refused to let Pidge do everything by herself, and wanted to find her family almost as badly as she did.

"Lance?"

Blue eyes fell on Keith.

"...I just didn't want Pidge to get hurt and I know you said-..."

Lance hugged him.

Keith's eyes widened, he nearly stopped breathing.

"I'm glad you're okay."

"Wait, you're not mad?" He asked, slowly.

"Well…" he pulled back and crossed his arms. "I wish you'd be less stupid. But if you're going to be stupid, I'm glad you didn't get too badly hurt this time."

"Thanks. I think." Keith couldn't help the blush that spread across his cheeks. "I, um… this was on the beach and it made me think of you." He fumbled with the shell in his hand, trying to free himself from the blanket enough to hold  
his hand out to Lance.

Lance's face was… unreadable.

Keith panicked. Was it too cheesy? What if Lance thought it was stupid? What if he hated it? What if-

"Keith? Can… can I keep it?"

"Well I brought it back for you, so…" he trailed off.

Lance carefully took it from Keith's hand and held it up to his ear.  
And he started laughing.

Keith frowned.

"I-I can hear the ocean! Oh my god, Keith, I can hear the ocean!"

"Really?" Hunk asked with wide eyes.

"Here, listen!"

Keith smiled and watched Lance bounce around with Hunk, taking turns holding the shell up to their ears. They rambled on about the beach back home and the shells they used to find and how similar this one was to something called a "wentletrap".  
He wasn't even disappointed when they left the room to continue their conversation, because Lance was happy, and that's what Keith cared about.

And Allura noticed the smile on his face. "Keith?" She questioned with a devilish grin.

Dark eyes blinked and looked up.

"What are you smiling about?"

Keith had a feeling she already knew the answer. 


	6. Chapter 6

"Please don't tell Lance?"

Allura didn't know very much about humans, but she could read Keith's expression like a book. She was glad they had gone somewhere private for this conversation. Keith looked utterly miserable. It probably didn't help that he looked like a child with  
that huge blanket around his shoulders, but he was definitely pouting, and his eyes showed worry and guilt and something akin to sadness. Sad that Lance didn't like him back, maybe?  
She felt sympathy for him. "I won't tell Lance."

"...do you think it would ever happen?"

The princess frowned. Was it possible for Lance to ever have feelings for Keith?

"Never mind, that was a stupid question, obviously it's never gonna happen, that's why I'm supposed to be getting over it-"

"I think it could happen."

Keith drew his eyebrows together. "Really?"

"It's a possibility. Don't give up."

His lips curled up into a shy smile.

Allura giggled. "You really like him, don't you?"

"...he's really stupid, but yeah…" he gazed down at the floor.

She was proud of him. Looking back to a year ago when she first met Keith, he was this cold teenager who frowned all the time and only fought because he had to. Now? Now he had something to fight for, something to care about. It was a relief to see him  
smile at the mere thought of Lance.  
"Why don't you get some rest?"

Keith nodded.

Lance opened his eyes and brought the shell away from his ear. It must've been hours that he had been listening to the sound of the ocean. He needed to thank Keith. This must've been the best gift he had ever been given.  
He left his room and knocked on Keith's door, but there was no answer. Maybe he was on the training deck? That's usually where Keith went when he couldn't sleep.  
Lance actually found him on the way to the training deck, though. Keith was fast asleep on the couch in the living area. "Oh man, this is perfect!" He mumbled to himself and went to find a marker. Keith was going to wake up with a mustache.

When he came back, something similar to a Sharpie in his hand, Keith was on the verge of falling off the couch.  
And then, that's exactly what he did.

"Whoa!" Lance ran over to him and knelt down. "Keith?"

He was still sleeping. How was he still sleeping?!

Lance rolled his eyes and scooped him up. No way was he going to let Keith sleep on the floor, especially after he was knocked out on a freezing beach for most of the day. With a sigh, Lance made his way toward Keith's room, mustache forgotten.  
Keith was light.  
Which was strange, because Keith was only a little shorter than him, but, the red paladin felt so tiny in his arms. It made him remember the last time he carried Keith like this… he didn't want to think about that. Keith wasn't dying this time, and he  
was determined to keep it that way for the rest of this stupid space war. He looked down.  
Keith was pale.  
It wasn't a sickly pale, but Lance thought he looked more like a porcelain doll than anything. His expression was peaceful now, and his skin looked soft and… touchable. His eyelashes were really long, surprisingly to Lance, and they were dark and contrasted  
his cheeks.  
Keith was quiet.  
He didn't talk much when he was awake, but he really was a quiet sleeper. He didn't snore, he didn't talk.  
Keith was cute.

Lance stopped. "Nope. Nope, keep walking."

He made it to Keith's room and managed to get the door open without too much trouble. But what was behind the door surprised him. He had no idea Keith's room was so cluttered with junk. Getting Keith to his bed was going to be a chore. He couldn't really  
look down to see what he was stepping on either.  
"I'm so getting back at you for this, Keith…"

"Mm…" Keith hummed, pressing into Lance's shoulder.

Lance looked down again. Since when was Keith allowed to be cute? Wait, no, he's not cute. Definitely not cute. This is Keith we're talking about. Not even a little-  
"Ah!" Lance gasped as he tripped over-what did he even trip over?-and fell back on Keith's bed. He was relieved that he didn't end up on the floor, but Keith was on top of him, and that made things difficult. If Keith woke up, he'd have a  
lot of explaining to do. But he couldn't exactly crawl out from under Keith without waking up the red paladin.

"Lance…"

Blue eyes widened. Oh no.

Keith buried his face in the crook of Lance's neck, holding on tight to his olive green jacket.

So maybe he did talk in his sleep. Lance took a deep breath and closed his eyes. How was he supposed to get out of this?

He fell asleep trying to decide. 


	7. Chapter 7

Warmth. It was unfamiliar. Keith wasn't sure where he was, but it didn't feel like a mattress. It was a lot warmer than a mattress, and it had arms that held him in place. It smelled like pine trees and caramel. It must've been a dream, and Keith didn't  
want to open his eyes to find out what was going on.

Lance took a deep breath as he woke, tightening his arms around whatever he was holding. Probably a pillow. He was really comfortable, although the mattress he was on didn't feel like his own. But he was warm and content and didn't want to open his eyes.  
And then something pressed into his neck. "Hm…?" His eyes cracked open as he tried to figure out where he was. The room was just like his own, except there was all sorts of weird junk on the floor. "Oh my god… Keith?"

"'m sleeping…"

Lance screeched, sitting up and sending Keith flying off the bed onto the floor. "DUDE WHAT THE HELL!"

"Ow…" he groaned. "What… Lance what are you doing in my room?"

"What were you doing on top of me?!"

"I don't even know how I ended up here, I thought I fell asleep on the couch…" Keith looked around, completely confused.

"I carried you to your room, idiot! Would you please tell me why you were on top of me?!"

"Lance, I was sleeping, I really didn't do it on purpose…" Keith frowned. The last thing he needed right now was Lance screaming at him, but that's exactly what was happening. He was already worried about Pidge, and scared that Allura would  
accidentally tell everyone about his stupid crush, and what the hell was Lance doing in his bed?  
But getting screamed at was not something he wanted to deal with.

"That doesn't make it okay, man!"

Keith looked at everything on the floor. Half of it was broken now from falling on top of it. "...why did you push me?" His voice was small.

Lance raised his eyebrows. "That's what you're worried about? Are you kidding me?"

"It's all ruined…"

He watched Keith fumble with all of that weird crap. None of this was making any sense. "It's all useless clutter, why do you even care?"

"It's not clutter!"

Lance stood up and kicked a few things out of his way. "What exactly would you call all of this then?"

"Can you just get out of my room?"

"Oh my god, fine!" Lance stormed out.

Lance pressed his ear against the door to Keith's room. He could hear movement, so apparently Hunk was right when he said Keith hadn't left his room all day. He felt bad for yelling. Keith really hadn't done anything knowingly, so, even though it was  
still really weird, Lance couldn't be too mad about it. He was just tired and he hated mornings. Kicking Keith's stuff may have taken it a little too far, so really, he was there to apologize and forget the whole thing ever happened.  
He took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

There was no answer.

"Keith, I'm coming in." Lance warned as he slowly opened the door. He walked in, cautious, and careful not to step on anything.

Keith was sitting in a circle of tools, trying to fix something that had been broken that morning.

"Have you been doing this all day?" He asked softly.

He nodded.

Lance cleared a space in front of Keith and knelt down. There were bags under Keith's watery eyes, and a worried frown that looked like it had been there for hours. "Can I help?"

After a moment, he nodded again.

"I didn't mean to break anything." Lance picked up some scrap metal that was sorted into a pile and started to put it together as well as he could. It must've made some sort of weapon or something? "I was just freaked out. And I'm not good  
with mornings."

Keith didn't look up.

Lance frowned. "Are you mad at me?"

A small shrug is all he got for an answer.

"Well, I'm sorry, if that helps…" he watched Keith try to put some sort of flower back in its holder, but the petals gently fell to the floor. Pale hands were shaking. "Keith?"

Tears burned as they rolled down his cheeks.

"Keith, hey, come here…" Lance dropped what he was doing and pulled the red paladin into his arms for a strong hug.

Keith cried on his shoulder.

"Keith, tell me what's wrong so I can fix it…" Lance rubbed his back in a frantic attempt to calm him down. He'd only seen Keith cry once, and that was his fault. If this was his fault too, he would be so angry with himself...

"Ever since I got out of that healing pod, everything has been so shitty and I'm mad at myself and now everything is broken and I can't fix it…" he rambled through the tears.

"Mad at yourself? What are you mad about?"

"For not telling you that I like you because it's only making everything worse…"

Lance froze. {Keith. Keith likes you, Lance. It's so obvious now. But, like… what the heck am I supposed to do? I can't date him if I don't like him back! That would be cruel. He deserves better than that. Just let him down easy? But he's crying! You  
can't tell him you don't like him when he's already crying! Just change the subject.}  
"Why is all of this stuff so special to you?"

Keith sniffled. "I take something from each planet so that if we ever make it home, I'll be able to remember everything… but now half of it is broken…"

"...so it's not just useless clutter… I'm such a jerk, I'm so sorry Keith, I really didn't mean to break all of this. I'm gonna help you, okay?" He moved next to Keith and kept him tucked under his arm where he knew Keith was safe. Safe from  
what, he wasn't sure, but it was important. "I'll try my best to get everything the way it was. I'll need your help though."

So they spent the next couple hours putting things back together. Keith was mostly silent, but that's what Lance expected. He knew Keith had a hard time processing some things, and as a result, he would usually lock himself up to be alone, because that's  
all he knew. That's what had led him to overthink to the point where he needed to cry to get it out of his system. Lance had been there before, where some things just add up and spill over the edge. He understood, and he wasn't going to judge Keith  
for being upset. Especially considering that they had been through a lot over the last few days.  
And he realized something during those few hours of sitting there with Keith pressed against his side, tinkering with broken toys and jars and plants and rocks… Keith wasn't as boring as he thought.  
He wasn't just a soldier who did whatever he had to do to protect the universe. He wasn't just a show-off. He wasn't just the pilot of the red lion. He was Keith. And Keith was someone who really cared about his friends, and who wanted to remember all  
of this stupid space war, because it mattered to him. Keith was quiet when he wanted to be, and loud sometimes, and sometimes he wanted to be alone while at other times he needed someone there with him. He was strong, but he was also vulnerable. He  
had feelings just like everyone else.  
So maybe Keith didn't talk much during those few hours, pressed against his side, but Lance found out more about him than he ever had before. 


	8. Chapter 8

"Hey Hunk, I have a huge favor to ask you…" Lance looked around the room to make sure they were alone.

"What is it?" Hunk asked suspiciously. Lance clearly wanted this to be a secret.

"Is there any way we could somehow get some shelves up in Keith's room?"

"...shelves?" His eyes narrowed. This was probably the strangest request he'd ever gotten from Lance since the day they met, and that included the time Lance asked if they could be Jessie and James for Halloween.

"Yeah, you know, like tables but on a wall or-"

"I'm familiar with the concept of a shelf, Lance. But why do you want shelves for Keith's room? And why now?"

"He just has a lot of stuff." Lance mumbled.

"How do you know that?"

"Can you just stop asking questions, Hunk?" He hissed, trying to keep his voice down. "Can you help me or not?"

"Yeah, I'll help, relax dude."

Keith decided he would spend the day with Pidge so Shiro could take a break from watching over her. She was talking to the rescued prisoners, but they didn't want to leave her alone if they could help it. As it turns out, Lance had the same idea. That's  
what he thought, at first.

"Girl, you're out of this world, and I would know."

Lance was sitting next to a green alien with pink eyes and short pink hair. She was pretty for an alien. Very pretty. Especially to Lance, who apparently had no boundaries when it came to flirting with aliens who had just spent years on a Galra ship.  
The alien giggled and touched Lance's arm with a shy smile.

Keith stopped and just stared at Lance. He was completely aware that he was staring, but he couldn't stop. Lance wasn't his. He had no right to be upset.

"Keith?" Pidge asked.

Lance noticed him and looked at him for a second, then returned his full attention to the pretty green girl next to him. "That's just Keith, don't mind him."

"He looks sad."

"He's fine. Anyway, let's talk about you." Lance turned to her with a grin.

She giggled again.

Keith turned and left without a word.

Lance let the girl tell him all about herself and her planet, but honestly, he stopped listening after a few minutes. Because he remembered what Keith had told him the night before. Keith liked him. Lance felt bad for ignoring him, but, he didn't owe  
anything to Keith. He never signed up to be in a relationship with the guy, so he didn't have to like him back. That's not how feelings work. He had no reason to feel guilty for flirting with a pretty girl.  
Except that he did feel guilty. Because he made Keith sad again, and he was starting to learn that he hated when Keith was sad.

Keith refused to go to his room and sulk again, so instead he searched out Hunk. The yellow paladin was doing some repairs and adjustments to his lion. "Hunk?"

"Hm? Oh, hey Keith!" He called over his shoulder.

He forced a smile and sat down next to him.

"Is everything okay, man? You look kinda pale." Hunk frowned. He set down the drill he was using and picked up a screwdriver.

Keith nodded, pursing his lips.

"If you say so. I'm just working, I hope you weren't expecting to do something fun."

He nodded and ran his hands through his hair. "...Hunk, can I ask you something?"

Hunk dropped everything and looked at Keith. "Of course. Is everything okay?" Keith didn't usually talk about personal stuff with him, but he had a feeling he knew where this was going.

His chest didn't feel so tight anymore now that Hunk was really listening. Hunk was the nicest person Keith had ever met, and talking to him made all the tension go away for a while. "Does Lance fall in love easily…?"

Hunk frowned. "What?" He was expecting to hear Lance's name, but not...that...

"...it's just that he's talking to some alien, and she's really pretty, and-"

"Do you like Lance?"

Keith hesitated before finally nodding, eyes cast down.

"I knew it." Hunk grinned triumphantly. "But I don't think you need to worry about this alien girl. Lance flirts a lot with pretty girls, but I've never seen him in love. I think it would have to be someone he has a deep connection with.  
Someone he trusts with his life."

"Well, I've risked my life for him a dozen times now and he doesn't seem to care about me much." Keith pouted and crossed his arms.

"That's not true. Lance cares about you a lot. It's just hard to see it."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, he makes you eat when you've been training for hours because he doesn't want you to pass out. He's always looking out for you when we're battling in our lions. He makes sure Coran and Allura know not to mention certain topics around you. And  
remember when you got sick a couple months ago? He was freaked out, big time. And when you fall asleep on the couch, he usually finds a blanket or something for you. I know Lance likes to pretend that he hates you, but I promise he doesn't. You're  
important to him, Keith."

Keith inhaled slowly. "Do you think… do you think he could ever…"

"Have feelings for you?"

He shrugged. "I know, I'm selfish, and it's terrible to ask-"

"I think it's possible."

"What?" Keith blinked, very anxious to hear what Hunk would say next.

Hunk smiled. "I think it's definitely possible."

"Keith?"

The two of them looked up to find Lance standing in the doorway. He looked upset about something.

"I need to talk to you."

Keith looked at Hunk again before getting up and following Lance into the hallway. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, just… I've been thinking about what you told me last night. When you said you… like me…" Lance scratched the back of his head. "I need to tell you that I care about you, but not in that way. And I'm not intentionally trying to hurt  
you, but, I don't like you that way and I should still be allowed to talk to cute alien girls if I want to. And you can be upset about that but you shouldn't make me feel guilty."

"I didn't-"

"I know, but just… in the future, if you're not, like, over me yet? I guess, what I'm trying to say is… I'm sorry, but I don't like you, and I just want everything to stay normal. Okay?" He tried to smile, but then decided that maybe that wasn't  
best for this situation.

Keith didn't know what to say. He wanted to erase Lance's words from his brain, to delete the conversation, to run away to his room and be alone.

"So are we cool?"

He felt himself nod.

"Cool. Hug it out." Lance hugged Keith and patted his back.

He took a deep breath, though he felt himself shake. His arms wrapped around Lance's neck and he could hear his heart pounding in his ears.

Something about this situation felt familiar to Lance. It felt like when he hugged his younger brother Evan. Evan had anxiety and Lance could feel it every time he hugged him. Keith didn't strike him as someone with an anxiety disorder. Not at first.  
But considering everything they had been through since they got lost in space, it made sense. It made sense that Keith would cry, that he would want to leave, that his room was a mess. Space was messing with his head. Lance felt bad, not just for  
rejecting him, but for not being able to fix it.

"LANCE! HELP!"

Blue eyes shot wide open and he sat up. The sirens weren't going off, but Keith needed help. He could hear Keith scream his name again from down the hall. "Keith?!" He jumped out of bed, and grabbed his bayard.  
He entered the room without knocking.

Keith was laying in bed, sweating, panting, and... sleeping.

"Keith?" Lance's bayard landed on the floor as he leaned over Keith and shook him by the shoulders. "Keith, wake up! It's a dream! Keith!"

His eyes popped wide open and he looked around the room, at the walls and out the window, before looking up at Lance.

"It was a dream, you're okay, I'm right here." Lance said softly.

Keith scrambled to his knees.

Lance knew that what he needed was a hug, so he wrapped his arms around the red paladin and whispered, "it's okay, we're all safe, it was just a bad dream…" he moved to sit down and hold Keith more comfortably. "Shh… you're okay…"  
he whispered in Keith's ear.

"Can you please stay?" Keith muttered.

"Yeah, of course." Lance rubbed his back. "Here, lay down." He pulled back and laid down under the covers, motioning for Keith to lay down at his side. The red paladin did so, using his chest as a pillow. "Go back to sleep, I'll  
be right here."

Keith took a deep breath.

"Wake me up if you need anything."

His throat felt tight. "Can you sing to me?" He asked, voice shy.

Lance frowned, finding the request kind of strange, but he wanted to help in whatever way he could. He remembered back when he was a child, and he couldn't fall asleep. His mother would sing him the same song each time, and it was one of her favorites.  
He wondered why singing comforted Keith, if one of his foster parents had sung to him the same way.  
But he didn't need answers right now.  
"Wise men say only fools rush in  
But I can't help falling in love with you  
Shall I stay  
Would it be a sin  
If I can't help falling in love with you  
Like a river flows surely to the sea  
Darling so it goes  
Some things are meant to be  
Take my hand, take my whole life too  
For I can't help falling in love with you  
Like a river flows surely to the sea  
Darling so it goes  
Some things are meant to be  
Take my hand, take my whole life too  
For I can't help falling in love with you  
For I can't help falling in love with you…" 


End file.
